LONGWOOD — Freshman Bella Ortiz pitched and hit Hagerty into the Class 7A state championship game Tuesday with a tremendous outing in a 7-0 Huskies’ victory over Jupiter.
Read more Port Charlotte star WR Elias Pearl commits to Gators’ top-10 2027 class
Meanwhile, in the other 7A semifinal, the East Ridge bats, which had been alive all season, ran into Western High pitcher Cheyenne Chaffin, who shut the Knights out 4-0. Hagerty will face Western, a Broward County power, in Wednesday’s state championship game at 1 p.m. at Boombah Soldier’s Creek Park.
Ortiz was stellar. Besides striking out 9 Jupiter hitters, she also had a double and a home run to help herself at the plate.
“You have this kind of feeling of trust, not only in myself, but in my team,” said Ortiz, who was an eighth-grader last year when she led The Geneva School to the state semifinals. “It’s a great feeling being able to play on both sides of the field (hitting and pitching). It’s a great opportunity from our coach. … I’m ready for tomorrow.”
Hagerty coach Tom Kreahling has been here before, and the Huskies are looking for different results. Last year, Hagerty lost to Wellington 8-7 in the 7A state title game, which went eight innings and ended after midnight due to a rain delay that lasted all day.
“It feels as good as it did last year. I think there’s a little bit of unfinished business for some of us now,” Kreahling said. “It was the first time we were in that situation last year, so we’re anxious to get back out there at 1 o’clock tomorrow.”
Hagerty took control in the third inning. Ortiz got things started with a leadoff double, Channing Uddin and Mattingly Klein both walked to load the bases, and Nisa Fatzinger-Rodriguez plated all three with a double.
Ortiz was back at the plate in the fourth inning, and after a leadoff single by Nicole Thompson, she blasted a 2-run homer over the left-field fence. Mattingly Klein then reached on an infield single, and she eventually scored on an Alina Gallaher double.
Hagerty’s final run was scored by Klein after a single by Fatzinger-Rodriguez in the sixth.
Kreahling is certainly happy to have had Ortiz transfer in this year.
“That’s just postseason Bella,” Kreahling said. “She’s been unreal, lights-out for us, filling up the strike zone and attacking, and her bat has come alive too, and that’s the best part, she’s become a two-way player.
“She’s still a ninth-grader. Some people want to make her out to be something, and she’s living up to some expectations. I think she’s playing free and having some fun with her teammates. She’s just kind of in the zone right now.”
Read more Former ‘pray-away-the-gay’ activist charged in child sex sting, Orange deputies say
For East Ridge, a team that had averaged 11 runs per game this season, the quiet bats were quite a surprise for a team that likes to hit the ball. Western was the first team to shut out East Ridge (27-3), which had only lost two previous games this season.
East Ridge chalked it up to Western’s pitcher.
“They had a lights-out pitcher in the circle that kept us off-balanced,” Peterson said. “She had good movement and when the umpire is calling the ball up in the zone, which we don’t chase, it makes it hard to adjust with the spin that she had.”
East Ridge had an opportunity in the first inning after singles by the coach’s daughter, Veronica Peterson, and Kinsley Crotty, but the Knights, a normally efficient team at the plate, could not push the runs across.
Chaffin beared down from there, allowing only one other East Ridge hit the rest of the way and striking out seven East Ridge hitters.
“Yeah, that kid is going to FIU for a reason,” Peterson said.
East Ridge was met with a 1-hour, 15-minute rain delay when the team arrived at the park.
“It was a long day. The first time being here, there’s a routine that you’re not used to and it kind of gets interrupted due to the weather, so it kind of throws everything off that you’re trying to adjust to,” Peterson said. Tuesday’s game had to be pushed back to nearly 1 p.m. for a scheduled 11:30 start.
It was a terrific season for his girls, though, and Peterson acknowledged the accomplishments.
“Oh man, a great season. We’re walking away from here still feeling like we had a heck of an accomplishment,” Peterson said. “First in school history to come to states, 27 wins .. this season is a success. The outcome of this doesn’t define our season.
“Now we work to get back.”
Chris Hays can be found on X.com @OS_ChrisHays.
FHSAA state championships
(At Boombah Soldiers Creek Park in Longwood)
CLASS 7A
Tuesday Semifinals
Hagerty 7, Jupiter 0
Wester 4, East Ridge 0
Wednesday Championship
No. 3 Western (22-4) vs. No. 1 Hagerty (26-4), 1 p.m.
CLASS 6A
Friday Semifinals
No. 1 Pace (25-4) vs. No. 4 Parrish Community (18-5-1), 1 p.m.
No. 2 Doral Academy (26-2) vs. No. 3 Bartow (27-3), 2:30 p.m.
Saturday Championship, 4 p.m.
CLASS 5A
Friday Semifinals
No. 1 Niceville (23-7) vs. No. 4 Braden River (23-3), 10 a.m.
No. 2 Winter Springs (22-6) vs. No. 3 Pembroke Pines Charter (21-8), 11:30 a.m.
Saturday Championship, 1 p.m.
CLASS 4A
Thursday Semifinals
No. 1 Columbia (27-3) vs. No. 4 Seminole (19-8), 1 p.m.
No. 2 Lake Wales (24-6) vs. No. 3 Key West (17-9), 2:30 p.m.
Saturday Championship, 10 a.m.
CLASS 3A
Thursday Semifinals
No. 1 Coral Springs Charter (21-4) vs. No. 4 McKeel Academy (17-5), 10 a.m.
No. 2 Wakulla (25-4) vs. No. 3 Eustis (21-6), 11:30 a.m.
Friday Championship, 5 p.m.
CLASS 2A
Wednesday Semifinals
No. 1 Calvary Christian (22-4) vs. No. 4 Oxbridge Academy (22-3), 10 a.m.
No. 2 North Bay Haven Academy (21-5) vs. No. 3 Cornerstone (22-5), 11:30 a.m.
Thursday Championship, 5 p.m.
CLASS 1A
Tuesday Semifinals
No. 1 University Christian (19-4) vs. No. 4 Schoolhouse Prep (16-11), 4:30 p.m.
No. 2 Geneva School (15-4) vs. No. 3 Evangelical Christian (16-8), 6 p.m.
Wednesday Championship, 7 p.m.
RURAL CLASS
Tuesday Semifinals
No. 1 Trenton (23-3) vs. No. 4 Madison County (19-3), 1 p.m.
No. 2 Northview (20-5) vs. Liberty County (23-5), 3 p.m.
Wednesday Championship, 4 p.m.
Read more Florida’s 2026 Python Challenge begins this summer. What to know.